can i do anything about my high water bill ?

tobycgraham

Hi, I have a problem and am not sure how to proceed. I live in a small house with one other person and am on a water meter supplied by anglian water.

From the 7th July 07 to the 14th January 08 our water bill was £156.76. This equates to roughly £25/month.

From the 15th January 08 to the 11th July 08 our water bill was £414.32. This equates to roughly £70/month.

I complained to anglian water, and told them our water usage had remained the same. They put my bill on hold and sent round an inspector to check the meter and to see if there were any leaks. The inspector told me that the meter was working fine and that there are no leaks.

A couple of days ago i received a new bill.

From the 12th July 08 to the 6th November 08 our water bill was £560.97 including the £414.32 from the last bill. This means our actual water bill for this period was £146.65 for 4 months.. rougly £36/month, high, but no where near the £70 a month of the previous bill.

Now, i'm not sure where to go from here. What can i do ? I really cannot afford to pay a £560 bill

Cardew

The important point to check is were any of those bills based on estimated meter readings.

e.g. The 7th July 2007 reading could be over-estimated

The 14 Jan 2008 under-estimated.

11 July 2008 over-estimated

Etc Etc

tobycgraham

thanks for replying. None of the bills are estimated. There is no reson why the bill should've gone up so dramatically. I really dont know what to do

Incisor

Could the meter be supplying any other premises also?

Do the bil readings agree with your meter?

Can you post more information about consumption [ie actual readings]?

lexie2005

Hi there Toby.

Right there are three tests you should have been asked to carry out. First of all a flow test, you need to isolate your supply at the meter & check it is stopping your water, then before you turn it back on pop to your neighbours either side & check their water has not gone off. If either of them have then your meter has been installed on a shared supply & you need to call AW billing line & advise you have a crossed/shared supply.

Next you need to perform an external leak test which you have to read your water meter then turn off your internal stoptap, leave it off for about half an hour then check the reading again, if this has changed then you have a leak between the meter & where the water enters the property & you need to call the operations department (I know they have already been out once but they have been known to be wrong!!!). If the reading doesn't change then you need to carry out an internal leak test.

Read the meter & go back in & turn your internal stoptap back on but making sure nothing is on or filling inside, again leave it half an hour & take another reading, if this has changed then you have a leak internally somewhere (possibly an overflow/tank).

If none of them work you can pay to have your meter tested, if it turns out to be faulty they will refund you. Below is the link to AW Watertight promise.

Give me a yell if you need any more help........

http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/assets/watertight%20promise.pdf

Psykicpup

i would guess that either something happened during the period of the high usage or there were estimated reads... as OP states no estimated reads & usage has now dropped what ever caused the high usage has also stopped... visitors maybe or an overflow problem or change in neighbours even if the meter is recording from the neighbours property.... what do your water company say?

lexie2005

Sorry just realised I didn't notice the bit saying it had dropped down again!!!!

tobycgraham

thanks for taking the time to reply... was going to do those tests this weekend, but anglian water just phoned me and told me there was a spike in sewerage water that was also experienced by me neighbours. They are going to take over £200 off the bill, thank god ! ty for all your help

Headsabovewater

"A Spike in sewerage water"
Your used water charge (sewerage) is based on the meter readings from your water supply.Unless your water company has fitted a meter on the sewerage pipe, which i doubt.
So the only way there can be a spike is if they have made a mistake and miss billed you.
Me thinks your being palmed off.
It might be worth writing to the water company to complain and ask for a written explanation of what went wrong.

NonGeographicalMan

Sounds to me like an incorrect multiple on their computer system to work from the metered water reading to the waste water calculation was used on that bill and they have only just realised. But if so you would think thousands of other customers with meter readings and bills issued over these few days would have been affected.

SplanK

i was going to suggest if it was a higher reading instead of an incorrect calculation.......

do yhou have an outside tap? If so somebody could be using it without your knowlage.... i was doing some reasarch into a place called Buckshaw Village where we were looking for a house and i read on a forum that the window cleaning guys and contractors on the site have been using peoples outside water taps - this charging the owners of the property!!!!